Yogurt was produced from milk obtained from cow milk, goat milk, soymilk
and coconut milk by fermentation using starter cultures of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Lactobacillus acidophilus.The results obtained showed that the initial pH of the fresh milk samples
were slightly acidic: cow milk (6.3), goat milk (6.2), soymilk (6.4) and coconut
milk (6.0). The pH results of the various fermented milk at 0 hour of production
were goat milk (5.24), cow milk (5.85), soymilk (5.73) and coconut milk (5.98),
but at 72 hours, all the milk samples tended to be more acidic due to the fermentation
and had lower pH values. All the fresh milk samples had the high moisture content
which ranged from 63.34% - 76.90%. Fat content ranged between 9.76% - 15.02%. Crude
protein ranged from 7.17% - 32.17% with goat milk having the highest protein level
of (32.17%). Ash content had the range of 0.52% - 0.96%. Goat milk had the highest
ash content value and coconut milk had the least value. Specific gravities of soymilk,
goat milk, cow milk and coconut milk were 1.018, 1.030, 1.016 and 1.01 g/ml respectively.
Taste, color, mouth feel and odor were acceptable at 0 hours of production but their
value depreciated with storage at room temperature. This study was able to establish
the close nutritional gap between cow milk, goat milk, soya and coconut milk yoghurt
preparations. The nutritional values obtained from the proximate analysis of the
milk samples were comparable. This clearly points to the fact that either of the
food can substitute for each other based on the values established from this study.